More than 107,000 at Kyle Field watch Texas A&M rebound and give Miami its first loss
The screams from 107,245 humans, creating a roar that turned Kyle Field into a deafening thunder box, was only the first challenge the Miami Hurricanes faced late Saturday.
Hurricanes quarterback Tyler Van Dyke’s off game, worsened by the absence of Miami’s top receiver Xavier Restrepo because of a previous foot injury, made matters more dire — as did a fumbled punt return that soon turned into a first-quarter Texas A&M touchdown.
No. 13 Miami fell to No. 24 Texas A&M 17-9 in a nationally televised showdown between the Southeastern Conference’s Aggies and Atlantic Coast Conference’s Canes, marking the Hurricanes’ first loss in the Mario Cristobal era and propelling the formerly downtrodden Aggies to a more hopeful season after last week’s loss to Appalachian State.
“We played hard, we played physical, we played tough,” Cristobal said. “Mistakes, miscues, and certainly gave ourselves a chance to at least tie the game there in the end, but not good enough. We gotta get better.
“At least we showed that we can compete in a difficult environment, but competing in itself is just not enough. You gotta execute, you gotta prevent shooting yourself in the foot on some things. But we have a high character team, the competitive character is high, and we’ve got to get back to work.’’
The crowd was the third largest all-time at Texas A&M, and largest ever for an Aggies nonconference opponent.
New quarterback Max Johnson, a left-handed LSU transfer (and former UM coach Mark Richt’s nephew) playing in his first season for the Aggies, started the game in place of former beleaguered starter Haynes King, completing 10 of 20 passes for 140 yards and a touchdown.
Van Dyke, 6 of 16 for 66 yards (38-percent) in the first half, finished 21 of 41 for 217 yards. His receivers dropped key passes, including on the final play when slot receiver Brashard Smith couldn’t hang on to Van Dyke’s fourth-and-four pass from the Texas A&M 40-yard line.
The Aggies’ victory came despite losing cornerback Brian George and starting safety Demani Richardson in the first half to targeting penalties and despite being outgained in rushing yardage (124 to 175) and passing yardage (140 to 217).
UM sophomore Andy Borregales kicked field goals of 28 yards in the opening quarter, 22 yards in the third quarter and 34 yards with 8:32 left for the Canes’ only nine points. He missed a 49-yard attempt wide left in the first quarter and had a 36-yard attempt blocked by Albert Regis in the second.
The Aggies’ lone touchdown in the second half came on a 25-yard pass from Johnson to Devon Achane at 10:29 to make it 17-3 at 10:29 in the third quarter. The four-play, 76-yard drive was aided by James’ Williams unnecessary roughness penalty and multiple missed UM tackles by a Canes defense that played very well much of the game.
UM had three sacks and six tackles for loss, with the defensive line playing its best game.
“We just got to know that In difficult situations when adversity strikes we just got to stay together as a team and continue to fight and keep moving forward,’’ said defensive end Jahfari Harvey, who had a sack.
Miami ultimately outgained Texas A&M, 392-264, but couldn’t score a touchdown in four red-zone attempts. The Hurricanes were the first team since at least 2000 to record at least 27 first downs and not score a touchdown.
First half
Texas A&M opened the game driving down the field fairly easily after a 36-yard kickoff return by Devon Achane allowed the Aggies to start at their own 36-yard line. But UM’s defense came through inside the 10, stopping the Aggies on three consecutive plays and holding them to a 26-yard field goal by Randy Bond to make it 3-0 at 11:32.
The Canes (2-1) responded with a 12-play, 65-yard drive that culminated with a 28-yard field goal by Borregales to make it 3-3 at 4:58 of the opening quarter. The drive was highlighted by two third-down conversion runs, one apiece by Henry Parrish and Jaylan Knighton; a 20-yard run by Parrish; and runs of 9 and 11 yards by Knighton.
Miami finished with 175 rushing yards on 36 carries, with Parrish going for 85 on 16 and Knighton going for 77 on 14.
Then, just when things started rolling quite nicely for the UM defense, Miami committed a costly blunder. After UM held the Aggies (2-1) to three-and-out — highlighted by a sack by Keontra Smith and Mitchell Agude and pass breakup by DJ Ivey — Tyrique Stevensen took a punt off a high bounce and fumbled it with Aggies nearly in his face. Demari Richardson was credited with the forced fumble, recovered by Chris Russell at the UM 28. The Aggies scored three plays later on a 1-yard rush by LJ Johnson for the 10-3 lead that held for the remainder of the game.
Harvey’s sack on third-and-8 from the A&M 49 sent Johnson tumbling and signaled the start of halftime.
The Hurricanes now must regroup and return to Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 17, for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff against Middle Tennessee of Conference USA before starting their ACC slate.
▪ Texas A&M true freshmen wide receiver Evan Stewart, wide receiver Chris Marshall, cornerback Denver Harris and cornerback Smoke Bouie were suspended for the UM game. Stewart, a 5-11, 170-pound former five-star recruit from Frisco, Texas, had 10 catches for 105 yards in the Aggies’ first two games. Marshall had four catches for 41 yards. And Harris had five tackles.
This story was originally published September 18, 2022 at 12:28 AM.
